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H.R. 2308, SEC Regulatory Accountability Act

As ordered reported by the House Committee on Financial Resources on February 16, 2012

H.R. 2308 would broaden the scope of analysis performed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) when issuing or amending regulations. The bill also would direct the SEC to develop a plan to implement the same procedural changes at the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) and other entities that supervise securities markets.

Based on information from the SEC, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 2308 would cost the SEC about $22 million over the 2013-2017 period, assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts. Under current law, the SEC is authorized to collect fees sufficient to offset its annual appropriation; therefore, CBO estimates the net budgetary effect of the SEC’s activities undertaken to implement H.R. 2308 would not be significant, assuming appropriation actions consistent with the commission’s authorities.

Through its effects on the PCAOB, CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 2308 would increase direct spending by $8 million and revenues by $6 million over the 2013-2022 period. Taken together, those changes would increase the budget deficit by $2 million over the ten-year period. Because enacting H.R. 2308 would increase both direct spending and revenues, pay-as-you-go procedures apply.

H.R. 2308 contains no intergovernmental mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.

Assuming that the SEC and PCAOB increase fees to offset the costs of implementing the additional regulatory activities required by the bill, H.R. 2308 would increase the costs of existing mandates on private entities required to pay those fees. The bill also would impose private-sector mandates by requiring certain private regulatory organizations to incorporate additional analyses into their rulemaking processes. Based on information from the SEC and other regulatory organizations, CBO estimates that the aggregate cost of those mandates would fall below the annual threshold for private-sector mandates established in UMRA ($146 million in 2012, adjusted annually for inflation).